Soulful,countrymusic singer-songwriter belting out his own brand of country/soul music, both originals and covers. Mixing up a little down home, a little uptown, a little “praise God”, and a little" hell yeah". A stage rockin performer with powerful...

Soulful, country music singer-songwriter belting out his own brand of country/soul music, both originals and covers. Mixing up a little down home, a little uptown, a little “praise God”, and a little" hell yeah". A stage rockin performer with powerful vocals to match. Audiences arrive with open arms, Tillman delivers.

Thomas has entertained at many large festivals including the Ga. National Fair in Perry Ga. Thomas performed acoustic shows blazing paths everywhere from Florida to Illinois. Among artists Tillman has opened and shared stages with are, Trent Tomlinson, Craig Morgan, Gretchen Wilson, Montgomery Gentry, Jo Dee Messina, Halfway To Hazard, Billy Ray Cyrus, Jason Michael Carroll, Joe Nichols and Clay Walker. Thomas was a singer in the house band at Wild Bill’s and at Cowboys, Atlanta for a brief time and then made the decision to get back out, do some touring and work in the studio towards the eventual release of his CD. Thomas was Ga. Country Artist for the month of March, 2008, and 2009 Georgia Country Male Artist of the Year and winner of Overall Best Georgia Country Artist of The Year. He is also a Nashville Songwriter signed to SB21 Publishing on Music Row. Tillman is music to the core, and destined to entertain. Learn what those who’ve already seen and heard from him, already know When the voices of the past, meet the voice of the future, this is Thomas Tillman. Affectionately called by fans as simply “tt” .

AIRTRAN GO MAGAZINE ATLANTA by Thomas Tillman is following in the footsteps of thIt’s “Welfare Wednesday” at The Peachtree Tavern in Buckhead. Although the $3 cover and cheap drinks are enticing, most of the people quickly filling the 300-person-capacity space are here for the...

GA COUNTRY OVERALL ARTIST OF THE YEAR 2009 by Thomas Tillman Takes Home The Top Georgia Country Thomas Tillman Takes Home The Top Georgia Country AwardsSaturday Night At Wild Bills In Duluth, GA Industry Colleagues, Artists and Fans gathered together at Wild Bill's/Duluth, GA to honor the...

AIRTRAN GO MAGAZINE ATLANTA by Thomas Tillman is following in the footsteps of thIt’s “Welfare Wednesday” at The Peachtree Tavern in Buckhead. Although the $3 cover and cheap drinks are enticing, most of the people quickly filling the 300-person-capacity space are here for the night’s headliner, Thomas Tillman. An Atlanta native breaking out on the country scene, Tillman is following in the footsteps of the local Grammy Award-winning Zac Brown Band (which graced this very stage just three years ago) and Leesburg, GA-native Luke Bryan (who still plays acoustic shows at the venue—sometimes for free).
As Tillman begins his set—starting with covers to get the crowd going, then transitioning into original material like his new song, “John Deere-John 3:16”— you’d think you were in downtown Nashville, where live country music is performed at bars on Broadway Street almost every night and the crowds never fail to sing along. Yet this is Atlanta’s country music scene—one that has gained serious recognition in the past few years thanks to a handful of superstars that call the city home, including Zac Brown Band and Sugarland.
“These bands have opened a lot of doors for Atlanta artists. I feel like I’m playing the same circuit they did years ago,” says Tillman, who has played in house bands at Wild Bill’s and Cowboys (both large Atlanta-area venues) and recently made his solo debut at the intimate Eddie’s Attic.
Atlanta has long been known for its thriving hip-hop scene, but country has recently crept to the forefront. One reason is because the music here isn’t your typical Nashville country sound. “As a songwriter, I feel there is something to be said for the sound that comes out of here. It has a bit more blues to it, a bit more pop to it, a bit more swamp on it than just the country western tradition,” says Jennifer Nettles, Sugarland’s lead singer. The other reason? A variety of top-notch venues—from the “listening room” that is Eddie’s Attic to the 5,000-person-capacity (and appropriately named) Wild Bill’s—that have welcomed these artists with open arms.
“Eddie’s is pretty much the home base if you’re a singer-songwriter in Atlanta,” Nettles says. The city’s “premier home and listening room for the performing songwriter” has been the springboard for artists like Nettles, John Mayer, Shawn Mullins and others.
Eddie Owen, who opened the 150-seat venue in 1991, envisioned a place “where songwriters could come play in a listening-room environment—a comfortable, warm, small, accepting, community-oriented little joint,” he says. Try talking or answering a phone call during a performance, and you’ll be told to “hush up.”
There’s nothing quiet about the crowd at the vast Wild Bill’s in Duluth, however. The seven-year-old, 70,000-square-foot country hotspot is billed as the largest dance club and concert hall in the US. After scoping out venues all over the country, owner Bill Gentry created a flawless club-meets-honky-tonk atmosphere where the energy hits you like a freight train as soon as you step in the door. A country music artist himself, Gentry knew how to go about creating a first-rate performance space. “This place was built by musicians, so it has the best sound and lighting you can get,” he says. “Lots of artists won’t go anywhere else when they come to town.”
Cadillac Jack, morning deejay for country station Kicks 101.5, points to Wild Bill’s as the spot to go for a country show. “They do a great service to the big tours, but they’re also not afraid to bring in up-and-comers,” he says.
Many up-and-comers often hit Dixie Tavern in Marietta, GA, a casual bar-meets-restaurant that Zac Brown Band used to frequent. “We’d actually always been a rock venue more or less,” says co-owner Anthony Chiovetta, “but ever since Zac got big, other bands have started to follow his lead, and we’re seeing a lot more of those types of acts. A lot of the bands that used to play rock even seem to have more of a country sound now.” The 300-person venue never has a cover and is the perfect place to grab a booth and a bite before making your way to the stage for the night’s show.
Tillman is just the kind of artist Dixie Tavern likes to book, but right now he’s still working the crowd at Peachtree Tavern. As he belts out his original song “Love Letters,” it’s easy to picture him headlining a larger venue one day, bringing thousands of excited country fans to their feet. He’d be joining the ranks of the latest luminaries, who all saw no reason to leave the thriving scene and city that brought them celebrity.

GA COUNTRY OVERALL ARTIST OF THE YEAR 2009 by Thomas Tillman Takes Home The Top Georgia Country Thomas Tillman Takes Home The Top Georgia Country AwardsSaturday Night At Wild Bills In Duluth, GA Industry Colleagues, Artists and Fans gathered together at Wild Bill's/Duluth, GA to honor the best in COUNTRY Music in Georgia. Thomas Tillman took home the top award of the night as The 2009 Georgia Artist Of The Year and the Male Artist of the Year award, too. Other winners were: Hannah Thomas - Female Artist of the YearDeepstep - Band of the YearRachel Farley - Teen Artist of the YearIndustry winners were: Wild Bills - Club of the YearThe Swallow At The Hollow - Small Venue of the YearPhillips Arena - Favorite Concert VenueWUBL- 94.9 The Bull/Atlanta - Georgia Country Radio Station of the YearAlan Jackson - Georgia’s Favorite National Artist

Thomas Tillman: Southern Roots, Musical Wings, and by Thomas Tillman: Southern Roots, Musical Wings, andwho: Thomas Tillman
what: country-western
where: Rustle Hill Winery
when: Saturday, May 8
Thomas Tillman:
Southern Roots, Musical Wings, and Illinois Excitement
by Jeff Hale
In today's country-music arena-- littered with polished, overly processed record releases and a new crop of look-a-like, sound-a-like artists, all of whom claim to be "real country" cropping up like tulips in a Holland springtime-- finding the real thing for the truly discerning listener is becoming increasingly difficult. However, if one looks carefully, it can be found, but often it is not on the satellite-music channels or on the stages of reality-based competition shows. Good country music, written from the heart of real-life experience, can still be found where it always has been, in the small-town beer halls, dusty backroads, fishing spots, and pickup trucks of America. Mostly it is found coming from the hearts and minds of the men and women who write and perform night after night for little more than audience applause and the reward of knowing they have cut right to the heart of those who listen.
One such modern-day troubadour is Thomas Tillman, who is bringing a little bit of Georgia and a whole lot of country heart to the Heartland when he visits Southern Illinois this weekend for a limited three-day tour, which will include stops in Marion, Benton, and Cobden. Tillman, with his self-penned anthems of real-life joy and heartaches, will play Walt's Pizza in Marion on Friday, May 6, Brew City in Benton on Saturday, May 7, and Rustle Hill Winery between Marion and Cobden on Sunday, May 8.
Although Tillman, with his bluejeans and boots, may appear similar to most of the up-and-coming crop of young country artists, a glimpse at the YouTube clips of his energy-packed live performances, or a listen to his lyrics, dripping with the joy and hardship of coming-of-age in the South, will reveal something new and refreshing. Although his style is distinctly his own, Tillman's stage presence, singing, and writing style make him a perfect mix of the edginess of Gary Allan, the lyrical grace of Nanci Griffith, and the classic cowboy cool of George Strait.
In a recent Nightlife interview, the singer/songwriter, although flying on the wings of being named both Georgia Country's Male Artist and Overall Artist of the Year for 2009, keeps his roots firmly planted in the red earth of Georgia.
It's been very humbling," Tillman says when speaking about his musical journey. "I've always sang and wrote, but it's only been in the past three-and-a-half or four years that I've been doing this seriously.
I really realized that this was going to be my work when I got my first pay stub," he laughs.
But Tillman's love affair with music began many years before, when the native of Decatur, Georgia began singing in the churches and school musicals around his native Cobb and Carroll Counties. Although born in 1983, the singer was not limited to the tastes of his generation. Never intimidated about making friends with people of different backgrounds, he first gained a love for the effect music can have on the soul while singing in the congregations of the African American churches in his hometown. At home, his musical influences were a melting pot of styles and genres.
The one word that comes to my mind is 'variety,'" he laughs when speaking lovingly of the tunes he remembers and loves from his childhood. "I listened to my parents' favorites. There was everything in my house from Merle Haggard to Elton John. My mom really loved Randy Travis, but she also loved the Rolling Stones. My sister really loved blues, so we had that in the house, too. I've always believed that with music, and as a musician, that open-mindedness is important. You have to keep yourself open and not limit yourself to one style or kind of music."
That philosophy has served Tillman well. His own self-penned songs, which stream on iTunes and Amazon, take listeners on an emotional thrill ride. The songs, with gritty, honest lyrics and driving guitars, landed him and his band on the top-ten finalist list for the hit television competition Nashville Star. Still, Tillman says, it is the small, intimate audience venues that are the most meaningful to him, and his trip to Southern Illinois serves as a homecoming of sorts. He has played the area before, and is excited about returning to both old friends and new.
I love Southern Illinois," Tillman says. "I have a good friend who lives up there. We travel everywhere, and when he invited me up to play, I wasn't sure. I didn't know if they would like country up there. But wow. Southern Illinois has the nicest people. I just love it there. In fact, I'm looking forward to playing more dates there. I play about two-hundred shows a year now, but I always have what we call fill-in dates, and I'm hoping to get more dates around there."
In a sheepish confession, Tillman reveals that it's more than the fans that keep drawing him back to the area.
I just love Walt's Pizza," he laughs, "and you can quote me on that. When I was here before, that became one of my favorite places to eat. Whenever I called home to my girlfriend, she would say, 'Where are you?' and I would tell her, 'I'm at Walt's.' She keeps telling me I'm gonna turn into a pizza. But I'm really looking forward to the show there."
However, food is not all that brings Tillman north of the Mason/Dixon Line. It is the audiences who give back the energy and honesty that Tillman packs into every performance.
It's always kind of nerve-wracking, playing live," he laughs. "I'm always worried, 'Will they like this? Will they accept it?' But they always do, and I hope that's what people will come expecting this weekend. They can expect the unexpected. We put on a really high-energy show. We play a lot of originals, but that's not all we do. People will recognize a lot of songs. We do songs by Ray Charles and Bad Company, too. It's really unexplainable what happens when we get on stage. But we love it."
Although his live shows, like his recordings and his songwriting, are labors of love, the grind of playing more than two-hundred shows annually and putting tens of thousands of miles under his bus tires every year is not without its ups and downs. When asked about the most rewarding and challenging aspects of touring, Tillman's answer is as honest as his lyrics.
The best part, I would say, is definitely getting to see all kinds of different places, like Southern Illinois. And of course, hanging with the band is always great. We've all been together for a long time, so we're like a family. Playing and singing, we make a lot of memories together, and for me, that's what it's all about-- making memories. On the other hand, being away from my loved ones, my family and friends, is very hard. Being away from my girlfriend is tough, too. She and my family will come to our shows when we're playing locally, around Georgia, but they don't travel with us."
All of the traveling during the past five-plus years has brought Tillman to warm up for Gretchen Wilson, Montgomery Gentry, Jo Dee Messina, and Clay Walker. When asked about his experiences opening for superstars of that magnitude, Tillman says that he found himself refreshed at the celebrities' humility and personable natures.
Man, it is humbling," he reveals. "But what I found is that they're just like everybody else. Hanging out with Gretchen Wilson on her bus, she was like, 'I still can't believe this has happened to me.' It's great getting to know them. I really liked opening for Clay Walker, because I just love him. His voice is just crazy good. I've learned a lot from those folks."
What he has learned, Tillman is putting into practice, using the credibility he has built among Nashville's songwriting community to fuel his career as a writer. After six years of balancing singing, writing, recording, and touring, with his day job of writing and singing advertising jingles for major radio markets across the country, the singer says he realizes more than ever that music is more than just a career to him. Music is his life.
I'll always be doing this," he emphatically says. "For me, life is a song. I write about my life, and what I know. I always try to write about real-life stuff. I do radio jingles to make a living during the week, but performing is what it's about for me. My life is a song. I'm always listening to music. I don't listen to myself unless I'm critiquing, because I don't really like the sound of my own voice. But if you looked at the stereo in my pickup truck, right now, I'm listening to Cross Canadian Ragweed. Cody Cross and the guys are just great people. But it's all about music for me."
As for his future, Tillman is currently working with songwriting powerhouse Shane Minor on a new CD, which the performer hopes to begin recording in June. At the moment, however, Tillman is keeping his eyes on the road to Southern Illinois.
We're really excited about coming up there," Tillman says. "I can't wait to play [Rustle Hill]. I'm really hoping that this will lead to other dates in the area. It's going to be a great time."
For more about Tillman, visit his website at . WWW.THOMASTILLMAN.COM